Blood is Thicker than Alcohol
by xXHeart of GoldXx
Summary: A collection of short stories focusing on Erica De Santa and her family. Many different genres such as angst, humor, and drama. Follow Erica as she lives through the shenanigans of everything the De Santa's, Trevor Phillips, and Franklin Clinton have to offer! Based on my OC from Awkward Child and Please Stay.
1. Coloring Books

**Coloring Books**

It hadn't been as easy as she pretended it to be. Most days were easier than others, she would admit, but on rare occasions, Tracey De Santa really resented her new adopted little sister, Erica. Amanda and Michael adopted their niece less than a year ago and welcomed her into the family. Tracey had been happy to have a little sister but days like these made her incredibly jealous of her.

Erica wasn't really doing anything other than sitting on her knees in front of the coffee table coloring in her coloring book while Tracey sat beside her father on the couch watching an old Western film. She watched the ten year old girl select a color from the box of one hundred sixty four crayons. Her hand hovered over the pink for a moment but then frowned before happily picking up a light orange. Tracey had to stop herself from screaming when she watched the girl start coloring the ballroom dress that orange color. It wouldn't have been as tacky if Erica hadn't made the girl in the picture have goldenrod yellow hair.

The coloring was apparently part of her therapy. Tracey wasn't even sure if Erica liked coloring. The girl would much rather have read books up in her room. The point of coloring, though, was so that she'd sit in the same room as other people and coexist with the family. Maybe she was trying to make the girl in the picture ugly, especially since she picked up the red crayon and colored her shoes red. The woman in the picture looked like a walking sunset especially since Erica colored the entire background blue first. She kind of hoped that was what she was going for; it was either that or her new little sister had a horrible sense when it came to coloring.

When Tracey was little, she had always made sure the people she colored in her coloring books looked pretty. She always gave the girls blonde hair and blue eyes with a pink dress. The shoes were usually silver or the same pink as the dress. She would make the background very colorful and wouldn't make the walls and the couch the same color like Erica.

Tracey knew she was acting childish. After all, she was a good thirteen years older than Erica and she shouldn't be feeling this way towards a ten year old girl. Normally she wouldn't because she was Tracey De Santa and did she really need any other reason? But there was just something about Erica that she resented. Maybe it was because she was a talented dancer while Tracey knew she herself wasn't very good even though she pretended she was. Or it could have been because Erica could sing a little bit too and she could hit notes that existed. But maybe it was because Erica just chose whatever color crayon she wanted and she didn't particularly care if it made sense for the picture. "Going out tonight, Trace?" Michael asked. She looked over to him surprised that he finally said something since he put in that awful movie. She wasn't entirely sure why she was watching it with him since it was pure torture.

"No," she replied simply. Erica continued to color with a frown on her face before she threw the crayon on the table angrily. Tracey watched her as the girl sat there and stared at the picture she just finished coloring.

"Really? No plans?" he queried. Tracey watched Erica reach over towards her left and pulled up another coloring book on the table. This one wasn't just some random princesses to color. Instead, it was characters from _Batman_. She must have gotten bored with the other one; leave it to Jimmy to get her into comic book characters. And leave it to Erica to admire the villains the most.

"Yeah, really. Is it that hard to believe I just want to stay home tonight?" Tracey asked in an irritated tone. She was already in a bad mood; it was bad enough her friends bailed on her at the last minute. The blonde really didn't need to be reminded of the fact that she didn't have anything to do on a Friday night besides sitting on the couch with her father wasting away.

"Whoa, don't take that tone," Michael replied and took a gulp of his whisky. Tracey held back a frustrated scream and glared at her cousin turned little sister. What was she doing coloring a woman with red hair and green skin? Was she trying to make her a walking Christmas tree? No, that most definitely wasn't okay.

Tracey couldn't hold it back anymore. She had to say something and maybe teach Erica about the proper way to color. "Erica, what are you doing? Don't you want her to be pretty?" she queried. The redhead frowned and looked at the picture she was coloring. She stared at it intently before responding.

"But she is pretty," Erica replied. "Don't you think so, Michael?"

"Of course she is," Michael said and gave Tracey a look. She ignored it as she always did. She didn't want to fight with her father. "Right, Tracey?"

"Right," Tracey grumbled and crossed her arms after she got that particular look from her father. _That_ particular look meant to keep quiet or else there would be serious consequences. Sure, she was an adult but she knew better than to challenge Michael. If it was Amanda on the other hand, well, she had no problem getting into screaming matches with her.

Tracey heard the front door open. Erica got up from her spot on the floor when she saw Amanda come into the room and put her purse down. The girl ran over to Amanda as fast as she could. Her mother bent down and opened her arms for Erica to jump into.

Erica was that perfect daughter Amanda always wanted. Tracey had been and still was incredibly difficult to deal with while Erica did everything that she was told. If Amanda told her to clean her room, Erica nodded and stopped what she was doing to clean it immediately. If Amanda asked her to set the dinner table, Erica would say that she was on it and do it without being asked twice. If Amanda told her that she couldn't go over her friend's house, Erica would say that she understood and tell her friend that she was sorry and still be happy for the rest of the day. If Amanda told Erica to jump off a bridge, the kid would probably do so with a smile on her face.

The way the ten year old ran over to Amanda, one would think she just got back from a week's vacation when in reality she had only been gone for four hours. The two exchanged a few words before Erica went back to her spot in front of the coffee table and resumed coloring the Christmas tree lady. Tracey leaned further back into the couch just knowing that Erica was the favorite and Jimmy was just too stupid to realize that. "Is this enough family time?" Erica asked Michael and Amanda. She eyed Tracey nervously before darting her blue eyes back to her new parents.

"How long has she been down here?" Amanda queried.

"A good hour and a half," Michael said as he checked his watch. Tracey wondered when he would start looking at the cable box for the time rather than the thing on his wrist. Even though he was an excellent thief, he was still old and that made her roll her eyes.

"Well, I just got home," Amanda said to Erica. "Don't you want to sit down with me?" Tracey knew her mother was trying desperately since Erica was kind of regressing to the loner she had once been; she was always a loner and antisocial, but she had been getting better until about a week ago when she decided her room was the best place to hide and her e-reader was her best friend. Erica looked up at her and quickly looked down at her feet nervously. "Okay go ahead," Amanda relented.

"Thanks," Erica said quietly and gathered up her coloring book and crayons. Tracey heard the little thumps as she ran up the stairs and the click of her door shut. Amanda and Michael eyed the exit of the living room anxiously. Tracey noticed this and gave her parents an odd look. Michael saw this and cleared his throat followed by finishing off his whiskey.

"I'm worried about her," Amanda sighed. She sat beside Michael and put her head on his shoulder. Her husband put his arm around her to pull her close. Tracey looked where Erica left and she wondered why Amanda would be worried about her. After all, Erica was the perfect child and there was no denying it; she doubted her parents would tell her otherwise. Sure, she could be socially awkward but everyone thought she was precious and that she'd grow out of being a shy little girl.

"She'll be all right," Michael assured his wife.

"Yeah, mom, she's just a little weird. I mean, Jimmy's pretty weird and you don't, like, worry at all about him," Tracey pointed out.

"Not funny," Michael said sternly.

"Not trying to be," Tracey replied with an annoyed tone to her voice. "But you guys worry about her more than you've ever worried about me," she pointed out. Or at least this was what she felt. She really had no way of knowing if this was true, but she never was fussed over nearly as much as Erica was.

"Instead of being insulted over that," Amanda started. Ah ha! So, it was true! Her mother just admitted it! "Maybe it isn't such a good thing."

"Whatever," Tracey crossed her arms. "I'll be in my room." Blocking out her parents' protests and how they were most likely about to start an argument, Tracey didn't feel like arguing. This was actually rare for her because she was quite an argumentative person, a trait that was passed down to her from both of her parents. There really wasn't any hope for her otherwise. The entire family had an argument going on every single day with one another and Tracey thought it healthy to vent and get out all of their frustrations. She and Amanda had no problem speaking their minds and Michael and Jimmy had no problem with throwing things across the room. Screaming matches were a common occurrence and it didn't really matter. Just that afternoon she and Michael got in a pretty heated argument-Tracey couldn't remember what it was about-and things were screamed, yelled, and insults were thrown. But at the end of it, they were okay.

Tracey even got in an argument with Jimmy over him leaving old food in his room. Since the maid was on vacation, he was doing a spectacular job of stinking up the house whenever his bedroom door was left open. Tracey swore he was going to end up on _Hoarders_ once he got his own place.

As Tracey climbed the stairs, Amanda and Michael were getting into an argument of their own. Sure their marriage was fixed, but the two were hot-headed people and it was bound to happen often. Tracey shook her head and smiled; if people weren't yelling in the house then there was a problem.

But then she thought of something as she peaked into Erica's room and saw her reading a book curled up on her bed. She couldn't remember Erica ever really yelling at anyone over nonsense like the rest of the family did on a daily basis. Sure, Erica got into a few arguments but it wasn't to the extent that things got thrown across the room or her throat was raw from too much shouting.

Now that she thought about it, Erica had been acting a little more strange than usual lately. She was actually regressing back to how she was when she first moved in. She was reading more than usual and she wasn't talking too much. "I know you're there," the red head said to her. "If you're gonna stand there, please close the door. They're being really loud down there."

"Sure," Tracey replied startled. She entered the room and shut the door behind her.

"Why'd you follow me?" Erica queried. Tracey watched the girl put her bookmark to hold her place and put the book down on her nightstand.

"I wasn't planning on it," the blonde haired woman replied truthfully. "We were talking about why you're acting so weird, you know."

"Enlighten me," Erica rolled her eyes.

"Enlighten? Really?" Tracey laughed.

"I read it in this book," she shrugged. "Enlighten. I like that word. It reminds me of…umm…brightness I guess."

"Why'd you want to come up here anyway? You were coloring and then you were like I'm so out of here."

"I felt the tension in the room," Erica replied. "I didn't want to be there when another fight broke out." Tracey sat down on Erica's bed and realized that the reason why Erica was regressing was because of all of the fighting going on in the house! Why had it taken her so long to realize this? Why didn't Amanda or Michael realize it? After all, they were the parents and they should have been aware of it. But the fighting never really bothered Tracey and Jimmy growing up even before they moved to LS. It was just part of life! They were a happy and hot-headed family. Things really only started to get bad when they found out about Michael's cheating followed by Amanda bringing home a handful of different men a month for years.

But Erica was different and there was just something so fragile about her that Tracey wasn't really jealous of. "You just don't like all the yelling at each other. Is that it?"

"I don't like it," Erica said and scooted towards Tracey on the bed.

"You can't take it seriously. We're just a bunch of freaks who enjoy screaming at each other for a little while and then we go get pizza or something."

"I don't try to," Erica replied and Tracey couldn't stop herself from putting a protective arm around her annoyingly perfect little sister. She truly was the purest one in the family as much as she wanted to deny it. "It just bothers me."

"I see how it could," Tracey nodded. But she really couldn't because it never really bothered her. However, she was never as frail as the small girl who was happily cuddling against her as Michael and Amanda screamed about whatever it was they were fighting about in the living room. "Don't let it bother you so much. We're just super loud. But if it does bother you, you could totally tell us and we'll do our best not to yell when you're around," Tracey said. She watched Erica's blue eyes light up when she looked up at her. That girl looked up at Tracey as if she had all of the answers to the world; as if she was the most amazing person to ever walk the Earth and was proud to be her little sister. Tracey wouldn't argue with her about any of that because she thought she was pretty fantastic.

"I guess I gotta use my words," Erica said, probably using the words her therapist used.

"Yeah," Tracey nodded. "Unlike normal people, we totally suck at reading people. You'll learn to be just as loud as the rest of us someday. But until then, let us know, okay?"

"You're the best," Erica said to Tracey and hugged her. After their brief embrace, Tracey looked down at her and smiled.

"Go grab those coloring books and crayons."

"Why? I thought I was coloring wrong," Erica said and looked down at her feet.

"Never mind that. You looked like you were enjoying yourself downstairs and I ruined it. Sorry about that." Tracey wouldn't admit being capable of apologizing and she'd deny it if Erica ever brought it up at the dinner table. If she was found out to have a soft spot for someone that lived under the roof, she'd be expected to respect everyone else all of the time and she wasn't about to do that.

"It's okay," Erica replied and grabbed two coloring books and the box of crayons. She and Tracey laid down on their stomachs on the floor. Tracey didn't think twice about grabbing the princess coloring book and didn't even think to ask which one Erica wanted. The younger girl seemed happy with her _Batman_ one and she immediately opened it up to start coloring. Tracey was going to comment that she shouldn't color the girl's costume all black with a yellow belt because she'd look like a bumble bee and what was attractive about that? Tracey decided to keep this to herself and grabbed the tickle-me-pink crayon and began to color the princess dress pink.

Tracey didn't notice when Erica eyed her as she colored, but she heard her mumble, "She's making her look like chewed up bubblegum."

* * *

Erica is back! Because my readers seem to love her so much, I thought why not start a collection of short stories with my OC in here? The idea here is to focus on the family rather than her friends and outside life of the De Santa house. If you guys want to see her with a particular character, scenario, etc. either review or send me a PM and I'll definitely consider them. If you haven't read _Awkward Child_ and/or _Please Stay_ you may be confused as to who Erica is and I suggest you read one or both of them. But you definitely don't have to! Just know that she was adopted by Michael and Amanda. Thanks to everyone who reads and reviews!


	2. Monster under the Bed

**Monster under the Bed**

Waking up with a start, Erica sat up quickly and clutched the blanket to her chest. She breathed rather quickly and looked around the room. It was incredibly dark and she wished she had a nightlight so that it just wasn't so dark. She squeezed her eyes shut tightly and drew her knees up to her chest after letting out a frightened scream. She didn't mean to scream and she most certainly didn't mean to do so in that high pitched shrill voice she had when she was terrified.

But she couldn't stop herself so she just kept screaming. She forgot to breathe and her lungs hurt as her body forced her to take in oxygen when her mind told her to scream. The light was turned on suddenly but it didn't stop Erica from screaming and letting the tears fall from her eyes she couldn't control. And when she could no longer scream, her body was forcing her to hyperventilate and she couldn't stop which made her even more scared than she already was. Oh God, what if she died right there because she couldn't breathe right? That would be an interesting way to go and perhaps mildly pathetic.

Erica felt strong arms lift her up and she sat on someone's lap rocking her back and forth gently. A voice was telling her to calm down, take in a breath, and that it was okay; she was safe in his arms and she believed it but apparently her body did not. She gripped his t-shirt so tight that her fingers hurt. She was told to focus on his breathing and she was glad that she could somewhat finally hear what was going on around her. Her head was against his chest and she could hear and feel him breathing and she began to try and match her breaths to his. She was eventually successful, taking in large gulps of oxygen to supply her body.

The grip she had on his shirt loosened and she felt his hand rubbing her back. "There you go," Erica heard the gruff voice say clearly.

"Sorry," Erica said. "I didn't mean to wake anyone up."

"I wasn't even sleeping," Trevor replied. "Had to quiet you down before you woke up your parents. A tired Amanda is a fucking grumpy Amanda and I don't wanna deal with that in the morning."

"Hey, she isn't that bad," Erica said and smiled a little.

"So, what got you so worked up tonight? Bad dream?" Erica's smile faded just as quickly as it came. She closed her eyes and listened to Trevor's heart beat in his chest. It hadn't been just a dream, but a nightmare.

In her dream, Erica was in her room in her bed. She recalled sitting up and swinging her feet to the edge to get up. Once she was standing and her feet hit the floor, she could smell rotting meat. Erica wondered if she even did smell rotting meat or her dream self thought she was because the girl wasn't entirely sure if one could smell anything in a dream.

The rotting meat, she sniffed, had been coming from underneath her bed. The smell was revolting and just thinking about it made Erica crinkle her nose. Although she would never investigate something like that in real life, in her dream, Erica got onto her hands and knees to look under her bed to see what was causing this.

She couldn't see a thing underneath her bed. It was as if there was a black hole under her bed because she couldn't even see through to the other side. Erica stood back up because she figured she'd be able to see something with a flashlight. She turned, but before she could take a step, a hand grabbed her around the ankle and pulled. Erica fell with a thud.

For some reason, this didn't scare her. Dream Erica felt this was more of an inconvenience than a creepy monster under her bed taking her down into the abyss. She tried to pull her foot free, but it seemed to be impossible. She managed to turn around and face the culprit who caused her to fall down. She looked at the rotting flesh of the hand that grabbed her first. She rolled her blue eyes because this was what was causing the smell. Perhaps Trevor tried to kill someone, shove it under her bed for later, failed at actually making sure this person was dead, and he eventually forgot because he was high on something.

Erica followed the hand, the arm, and eventually saw a face staring at her from under the bed. And that face belonged to her biological mother, Elizabeth. Erica frowned; why was Elizabeth there under her bed? And why was some of her flesh on her cheek about to fall off? She wanted to ask these questions, but found she couldn't speak. "Come with me," Elizabeth pleaded in her normal voice. Funny, Erica was expecting some freaky unrecognizable voice to go along with her almost unrecognizable, rotting features. "Come back home with me, Erica."

The part that scared Erica wasn't the fact that her rotting biological mother dragged her under the bed into the blackness. The smell didn't scare her despite it getting stronger and stronger and neither did the uneasiness of the entire bizarre situation. No, what terrified her and caused her to wake up screaming bloody murder was the fact that her dream self didn't try to get away from zombie Elizabeth. She didn't even struggle and let Elizabeth take her away.

Erica was scared because a part of her thought she made the wrong decision to live with Amanda and Michael. Perhaps she should have stayed with Elizabeth because deep down she missed her and sometimes felt she didn't belong with Amanda, Michael, Tracey, and Jimmy. In fact, she felt like the outcast of the family. But then when she thought about it, she was the outcast with Elizabeth and her boyfriend. At least with Elizabeth, though, she felt that undeniable connection because she was Elizabeth's daughter and sometimes, rarely, but sometimes Elizabeth would let Erica read to her. And she missed those rare moments.

The reality was that Erica decided to live with her aunt and uncle and although she loved them dearly, she still loved Elizabeth and was afraid that she'd come back and offer to take her away.

What scared her was that Erica would probably go back with Elizabeth given the chance.

"Erica?" Trevor queried, breaking her from her reverie. She clutched his shirt in her fist and was terrified that she'd give up this-the comfort she always wanted, the attention she always craved, and the love that she always deserved for neglect and abuse from her own biological mother.

"Yeah," Erica shook. "Yeah, I had a bad dream." She left it as that and would never tell Trevor or anyone about the monster under her bed.

* * *

Yinyang754 requested: "I want to see Trevor and Erica interact in the next one after Erica has a nightmare about Elizabeth trying to take her away." Hope you liked it!


	3. That Awkward Moment When

**That Awkward Moment When**

Erica waved goodbye to Josh and his mother after she was dropped off at her home in Rockford Hills. The fourteen year old adjusted her dance bag and approached the door to enter the mansion. She unlocked the door and went inside. She shut the door and shouted, "I'm home early!" Erica's dance class had gotten out an hour early because one of the girls threw up when she spun around the room. It wasn't like the spin was anything insane; it had been a simple dance but apparently it had been fried dough day at school and that didn't always sit well with the students. Erica was glad that she brought her lunch in her Ariel lunchbox. Apparently after trying to act older and cooler during freshman year of high school, sophomore year allowed everyone to like Disney and children's shows again. Erica was relieved when Disney Princesses were suddenly cool again since half way through seventh grade.

Without receiving a response from Amanda, Erica shrugged and rushed up the stairs to her room to take a shower. Despite dance getting out early, she still felt gross and sweaty. She hopped in the shower and took a relatively quick one-which was about twenty five minutes since being a teenage girl required a lot of maintenance. It didn't really, but she used that as an excuse to just stand underneath the water after she took less than ten minutes to shave, shampoo, and soap up.

Erica got out of the shower and toweled off, wrapping her hair in a towel. She put on her pajamas because she was exhausted even though it was only a little bit past seven. Waking up at five thirty in the morning for school did that to a girl. She groaned in frustration when she realized she still had to do homework. "Fuck," she whispered to herself and mentally slapped herself for talking and socializing instead of rushing to get her homework done during her study hall. She wished she was more like her best friend, Dinusha, who always seemed to be doing some kind of homework during lunch and study hall. That girl never seemed to do any homework at home! The only thing Dinusha ever did at home were school projects, which everyone loathed, and she'd even finish them weeks before they were due! Erica, on the other hand, tended to wait until she had just enough time to finish them. She was pretty good with managing her time so she was never really too worried.

Shaking her head to get homework out of her mind for the meantime, she towel dried her hair and decided to go see Jimmy. As per usual, he was in his room gaming although he had been pretty good at cutting back lately. It was his day off from work, so he usually spent those days on his gaming consoles. "Hey," she said and stood in the doorway.

"What do you want?" he asked her. "No, not you," he grumbled into his headset.

"Nothing just wondering where Michael and Amanda are," she replied.

"Last I saw they were downstairs."

"They weren't there when I go home," Erica said.

"How would I know?" he queried. "They're somewhere here."

"Thanks for being helpful," Erica replied dryly.

"Bring dinner up for me if there's anything, huh?"

"I'll think about it," Erica said and closed the door. She then decided that she would not bring dinner up to him. She'd let him starve in his room in the dark. She went down the stairs and heard movement in the kitchen. Perhaps they had been home the whole time and were outside. Amanda did enjoy doing her yoga while Michael sat by the pool and drank his whisky.

The teenager entered the kitchen. Normally if someone her age found his or her parents doing unmentionable things, one would scream. However, Erica was not so normal and she only rolled her eyes when she saw Amanda hastily hop off the counter and Michael trying to hide himself behind the island as he pulled up his pants faster than she'd ever see him move. She had never seen Michael and Amanda in such a compromising position, but she had seen her birth mother, Elizabeth, do this on numerous occasions with her boyfriend back when she lived in North Yankton with them.

The silence was long and incredibly awkward. Well, it wasn't for Erica but for Amanda and Michael it definitely was. "You, ah, you're home early," Michael said to break the silence.

"One of the girls puked so they let us go," Erica replied. "And the kitchen, really? We eat in here sometimes." This left her two loudmouthed parents speechless, so she grabbed a water bottle from the refrigerator and a pear from a bowl on the counter. She made her way upstairs to avoid Amanda's blushing face and Michael opening and closing a mouth like a fish when he went to say something but nothing came out.

"Hey, did you grab any food for me?" Jimmy asked her when he heard her bounding up the stairs. Erica turned towards his room and smiled with amusement.

"That awkward moment when I go in the kitchen and see your parents doing the nasty," Erica laughed when she saw Jimmy's expression with his mouth wide open and then a look of disgust graced his features.

"You're kidding, right? Shit, why would our parents do that in the kitchen?"

"Note that I said your parents. They're your embarrassing parents right now," Erica laughed as she ran into her room and locked the door.

* * *

This was a request from Jessie and Guest (Not sure if this is the same person or not). They wanted to see what would happen if Erica walked in on Amanda and Michael and this is what I came up with. If you sent in a request, I am working on them in the order that I get them in so just be patient! Thank you!


	4. Sunday Mornings

**Sunday Mornings**

Sunday mornings were relatively quiet in the De Santa household. It was the one morning in which Michael enjoyed his peace and quiet since the house was usually loud. Any other day of the week, Amanda would be awake before him and she'd be just finishing up her yoga around seven in the morning. Then, she'd take out that blender and make some weird concoction that she deemed healthy that week and they'd always be healthier than the last thing she found somewhere online. Michael had no idea how she could listen to the blender rip apart the soft flesh of fruit and the sturdy vegetables that early in the morning. Michael was used to gunfire, sticky bombs, and everything else that came with a criminal career: it was all so loud! But none of that annoyed him, not like the blender at seven in the morning when he just woke up.

It wasn't just that Amanda had the blender going, but she woke up at ungodly hours (usually five in the morning) and was already awake and had some quiet time before anyone else woke up. After two hours of silence, she tended to chat up a storm when Michael woke up at his usual time these days which was seven in the morning. Before he became a movie producer, he'd wake up later or slept away the entire morning and drank until sunset. But he was a new man now and he was a family man so he woke up at seven because that's just what normal, respectable people did; he wasn't normal by any means, or respectable, but that didn't seem to matter.

After Amanda was done running her mouth a mile a minute (which usually lasted over an hour at the very least) Tracey would come down the stairs with a bounce to her step that she hadn't had before she started college. She'd come down with her hair wrapped up in a towel and start talking to him, adding to Amanda's chatter.

It wasn't a secret that Michael's family was unusually loud, but did everyone have to be so loud so early? Apparently so, because a little after nine, Jimmy would stumble in from dropping off Erica at school. Michael understood why Jimmy would wake up and do this Monday through Friday considering it was probably the only time he got some peace and quiet-he'd have a chance to wake up. But once Jimmy got home, Michael would leave for work. And work could be loud if he was on set, which he was these days, and then he'd come home to his unusually loud family.

Sundays were different. It wasn't that he hated his family for being loud, but sometimes it became overbearing. Sundays were his mornings of quietness that he cherished and gave him a chance to recharge. Amanda would sleep in until ten, Tracey wouldn't leave her room until noon, and Jimmy worked an early shift at his new job and was gone before Michael even woke up.

On Sunday mornings at seven in the morning, Michael would get ready to go buy the morning paper at a convenience store down the street. He started this Sunday morning tradition after he, Trevor, and Franklin took care of the nuisances in their lives-like Steve Haines. "Good morning," Erica smiled when she came into the foyer. She was dressed in a cute little green dress and wore white sneakers while he was dressed in his shorts and a t-shirt.

"Good morning," he said to the ten year old. "Ready to go?"

"Yup!" she said happily, but quietly. It was true that Michael enjoyed his alone time Sunday mornings, but ever since he adopted his niece, he would bring her along with him to get the paper. He enjoyed her company because she was quiet. Erica was never loud, unless she had to shout to be heard in the house with so many loud people living there (Michael included).

He drove them to the convenience store in his black tailgater. When they arrived, Michael and Erica walked in silently. They'd first go and pick out a coffee cake which Erica carefully selected. This week, she'd get raspberry and then they'd grab their respective papers-Michael the _Los Santos Meteor_ while Erica grabbed her usual _LS24_. He noticed that she looked up at him while she smiled and placed a back of spearmint gum on the counter. He nodded, saying it was okay, and the look on her face was just adorable. It was cute how happy she could get from something so simple and that only cost him a dollar.

The two returned home and Erica sat at the table while Michael made them apple tea-Erica's favorite. He sliced the coffee cake and gave her a piece once their tea was ready. He had never been much of a tea drinker until Erica insisted that he tried her apple tea. It was incredibly delicious and he would never admit it to anyone that he liked it, not even his wife. Only Erica knew this dark secret he held and he trusted her not to share that embarrassing information with anyone.

Silently, the two grabbed their papers and began reading. They ate their breakfast and took sips from their tea occasionally. They'd do this for hours-reading in silence and Michael getting up to make more tea once their mugs were empty. Usually when they'd finish reading and cleaned up after themselves, Amanda would come down and make herself one of her weird concoctions and take out that obnoxious blender of hers. How she could do this right when she woke up, Michael didn't know. All he knew was that the silence was gone and Erica was covering her ears. "What are you two up to this morning?" Amanda asked them when she joined them at the table.

"We read the newspaper and had breakfast," Erica explained. Before Amanda could reply, loud thumping came from the stairs as Tracey stumbled down still in her pajamas. She was up earlier than usual.

"That fucking blender of yours," the blonde growled loudly as she went into the kitchen and began to make herself some coffee. She slammed things around the kitchen angrily as she muttered under her breath.

"Watch it!" Amanda yelled at her oldest daughter. Needless to say, a verbal argument started and Michael wasn't ready to deal with this for the day. He was about to shout for everyone to shut the fuck up until he saw Erica slowly leaving the room. He found himself following her out and stopped by the stairs.

"Sorry," Erica said. "They're just being really loud."

"Yeah, they are, aren't they?" Michael replied. "How about we go to the park and ride our bikes on the trail?"

"Really?" she asked with so much hope it seemed as if it would burst from her little body.

"Go get your helmet. I'll grab the bikes."

"Thanks Michael!" Erica said and hugged him. "You're the best!" She ran up the stairs as fast as she could to find her purple helmet. Michael went into the garage and smiled to himself. Yup, Sunday mornings were definitely the best time of the week.

* * *

For the guest reviewer who wanted to see some father/daughter bonding. Hope you liked it!


	5. Betrayal

**Betrayal**

She looked at him with disgust when he staggered through the door with a bullet wound in his shoulder. He was supposed to be done with that life a long time ago. In fact, Michael promised his wife and kids that he would never get involved again. This wasn't the first time he promised his family, the first time being that summer of 2013, about nine years after he entered the witness protection program. About ten years went by and Michael broke his promise yet again. Apparently being a movie producer was too boring and having enough money to retire whenever he wanted wasn't good enough. Needless to say, Erica wasn't happy about Michael getting back in the game. "Don't look at me like that," he said. "Just don't."

"Like what?" she asked him. She glared at him as he made his way up the stairs to the master bathroom. Erica followed him and watched as he peeled his shirt off and pressed one of Amanda's expensive white towels to the wound. Erica doubted that the stains would come out.

"Like I'm some sort of fucking disgrace," Michael replied. "Jesus!" he hissed when he put too much pressure on his shoulder.

"Well, why shouldn't I?" Erica leaned against the doorframe. "You shouldn't have done whatever job you just did. It was wrong."

"You know, ever since you went off to college in Liberty City, you've been a real asshole," Michael said to her. He continued to dab at the hole in his shoulder. Erica stood a few feet behind him and looked into his eyes in his reflection on the mirror. She bit her lower lip as she thought about what she should say to that. It was true; she did notice that she changed when she went off to college. But she didn't think she changed for the worse. In fact, she felt she had more experience in the world and could base her emotions and feelings off of that. She knew she thought differently from reading her diaries from her time in LS.

Erica had a harsher view on people. She judged them based on their actions, not only towards herself and the ones that she loved, but towards strangers as well. And she would admit that she was heavily judging Michael's actions about this last job he pulled. She wondered how many people got hurt, how many people died, and most disturbingly, how many people Michael injured and killed. She knew he ended some people's lives and it made her feel sick. "Maybe I'm just smarter," she replied.

"Oh, suddenly you're smarter than me just because you've had a couple years in a university? Is that it?" he scoffed. Erica hugged herself, an uncomfortable coldness enveloping her in the bathroom when Michael turned around and glared at her harshly.

"That's not what I meant," she whispered.

"I'll have you know I'm smart. Hell, I'm a fucking genius!" he exclaimed angrily as he stormed out of the bathroom, completely ignoring Erica's words. He used his good arm and swiped picture frames and knickknacks off of the dresser. Erica gasped when she followed him into the room and witnessed it. She knelt onto the floor to pick it up. She picked up the picture of Michael, Amanda, Jimmy, and Tracey before she joined their family. "I plan these heists. I've planned hundreds of them and I always come out on top in the end."

Erica reached over and picked up another picture frame, this one containing her school picture from senior year in high school. She had a short intake of breath when she cut her finger on the broken glass. "I know how to win. My strategies are the best. I _am_ the best at this. I can outsmart the fucking government-the FIB. It takes a real intelligent person to pull this shit off. You'll never be this fucking smart, Erica."

"I never said you weren't smart," she said as she stared at the blood dripping down her left index finger.

"It was heavily implied," he seethed. Erica continued to have her back faced towards him, still kneeling on the ground adjacent to the dresser.

"The decisions you make are stupid," she replied boldly.

"Well, then, it's a good thing we aren't even remotely related so you couldn't inherit my stupidity." For a lack of a better description, those words were like a knife that suddenly impaled her chest and twisted right into her heart. She dropped the picture on the ground and turned towards him quickly and forgot about the blood that was dripping from her open cut.

"With my luck I was probably switched at birth," Erica growled. She knew his words were out of anger, but she couldn't control herself. She was just so angry-angry with the fact that he would point out the fact that she was an outsider in this family and that he was still okay with what he had done that night.

"Oh, really?" he spat.

"Yeah, really!" Erica sat up straighter.

"Erica, what happened to you?" he asked her. Apparently the blood loss was getting to him because he suddenly became too tired to argue with her. Erica shifted her weight on her knees and she looked down at the floor as she cooled off from her sudden moment of rage.

"I don't know," she murmured. "But what happened to you? You're killing people just to make money you don't even need." Michael laid down on the bed and motioned for Erica to come join him. She climbed up onto the California king sized bed and rested her head on his good shoulder with his arm wrapping around her. It was funny how they had just been fighting with each other and now they were calm and cuddling like how they used to when Erica was younger.

"You have to understand that this is me," he replied with his eyes closed. "I've done this as long as I can remember."

"You didn't do this when I was around," Erica pointed out.

"I did a couple jobs-small ones-when you were growing up. I guess I was that good at keeping that a secret, huh? Amanda doesn't even know that I still do this. She thought I gave this up a long time ago."

"Do you like to do it? Killing people, I mean." She had to know.

"No," he replied honestly. "It doesn't bother me much anymore. But I'm no Trevor, that's for sure," he paused. "Hey kid, why does it bother you so much if I shoot a couple of guys but not when Trevor does it? You know he eats people."

"Don't remind me," Erica said and had to force the bile back down her esophagus. "I think it's because Trevor's Trevor. There's obviously something mentally wrong with him. He doesn't get it and he never will. But you do. And you're…you're my dad. Stupid reason, huh?"

"No," Michael assured her. "I get it." She snuggled closer to him with her eyes closed. She didn't even mind that he smelled of blood and sweat. Erica was trying to forget that he killed people that night and that he harmed innocent people. She was afraid to ask if he ran anyone over while he was getting away. She tried to pretend that she didn't know that Franklin was probably an accomplice. "You just put me up on this pedestal that I never belonged on. Trace did that, too and ended up disappointed."

"Why can't you just stop?" Erica asked him as she pushed away from him. She sat up and looked down at him. His eyes were still closed and he hadn't flinched. "It doesn't just hurt me, but it'll hurt Tracey and Jimmy if they find out. And Amanda," she whispered the last part. "Why do you have to disappoint her?" Erica would always hold a soft spot for Amanda. It was because of her that Erica didn't have to live with her neglectful and mentally abusive mother. Amanda filled that void in her heart that had been empty where a mother's love belonged. She loved her aunt who adopted her and became her legal mother. Erica knew she'd do anything for her, but she didn't know if she'd be able to keep this horrible truth a secret. She wished Michael hadn't done this and that this was just some horrible dream.

"I don't know; God, I don't know. I wish I could. It's like…it's like a drug and I just can't be satisfied without it."

"Can't you just quit it? If it's like a drug, you can stop and you don't have to need it anymore," Erica pleaded.

Michael let out a low laugh, his blue eyes opening slowly to meet her own. "I've been on this drug for too long." Erica got up off the bed quietly. She had tears in her eyes. She was having a hard time believing the hard, cold reality. Michael wouldn't give up this life even if it meant putting himself and others in danger. She knew the job he had done was a big one just by the fact that he was shot and the overall state he was in. If she stayed in this house, she knew she was in danger because someone would eventually be coming for Michael. "Where're you going?"

Erica remembered the story Tracey told her about the time a gun was held to her head in her bedroom when she was getting ready for Michael's movie premiere. There weren't many moments in the blonde's life when she was serious. Erica recalled how she looked her directly in her eyes with her hands on her shoulders to steady herself more than Erica. "If daddy ever gets back into that life, get out; get the fuck out. I never want to see or hear about a gun being held against your head. When that happened to me, I thought I was going to die-I would have if daddy didn't shoot him in the head. But if he missed the shot or didn't react as fast as he did, I wouldn't be here right now. And I don't want to see you dead, either. Just promise me, Erica." And she promised even though she wasn't really taking Tracey seriously and she couldn't even picture Michael killing people to make a fraction of the money he already had in his own bank account.

"Packing," she replied, steadying her voice. "I'm going back to my apartment in Liberty City." Erica fought her tears; she had to do what was best for herself. She couldn't be selfless in this instance. She'd call Tracey in the morning. Erica badly wanted Amanda, but she couldn't explain this to her and she couldn't be the one to disappoint her. She'd wait until she got to her apartment to call her up and explain why her visit was so short. Hopefully by then, Tracey's big mouth would have already explained everything to their mother so she wouldn't be the first person to break the news to her.

Erica cried when Michael didn't follow her to her room. She shed tears when he failed to wrap her up in a hug and promise that he'd stop. She choked back a sob when she realized that maybe, like Trevor, Michael had some kind of mental disorder that wasn't as obvious. She shuddered when she thought of her father as a murderer, a psychopath, and a thief. Erica felt betrayed.

But she still loved her daddy.

* * *

For JuJu23- I went with the "what would happen if Michael was shot during a job" scenario. I will admit, this came out darker than I thought it would, but the light, happy ending just didn't work well. Hope I didn't disappoint!


	6. Easter Eggs

**Easter Eggs**

"So explain to me again why we're dipping eggs in colorful water?" Erica questioned Amanda as she made a bunch of different colored water. Erica wasn't really sure how she was doing that over at the counter. Perhaps it was some weird magical mom thing moms just did, kind of like how Amanda could find anything in the house Erica lost. Erica could tear the house apart for hours looking for a book she was reading and Amanda wouldn't even get up off of the couch and say it was in the drawer in the kitchen. What was it doing there? Erica didn't know. But she'd be a little bit annoyed that she didn't think to look there.

"It's water, vinegar, and some food dye," Amanda explained. "And we are doing this because it's Easter."

"But we didn't do this last year," Erica pointed out.

"We were busy with other things last year," Amanda reminded her, referring to last year when Erica had come to stay with the De Santas, followed by being adopted by them.

"Oh," the ten year old said simply. She sat at the table in her brand new dress she got for Easter. The family wasn't going anywhere, but Erica liked to dress up and wear nice clothes. It was a light blue dress with white poke-a-dots and a white ribbon around her waist, tied into a bow in the back. "I still don't get it. What does this have to do with Easter?"

"It's just something people do," Amanda replied.

"Why do people celebrate Easter?" Erica questioned.

"It's a religious holiday," Amanda responded.

"But we aren't religious."

"Fine, then, it's cultural," Amanda said and brought over a bowl of eggs she just hardboiled. Erica sat on her knees on the chair and reached over to grab one. She took it and plopped it in the cup with the purple dye. Amanda did her own, putting it in the orange one.

"How come we're the only ones doing this?" Erica asked, referring to the rest of the family.

"They didn't want to," Amanda replied.

"But I didn't get a choice," the redhead pointed out.

"You would've said yes," Amanda said.

Erica thought for a moment. "Yeah, you're right." Erica always liked to do things with her family. She rarely said no, unless it was something she really wasn't a fan of. She decided to get creative with one of the eggs, dying it half pink and half blue. She did this with a couple of them and smiled. Amanda had been right as this was fun and relaxing. Amanda put on some classical music since Erica didn't like anything popular on the radio. She'd still jump at loud noises or something she wasn't prepared to anticipate, so this music was good for her.

Erica continued to dye the eggs while Amanda began to make breakfast. She saw her take out a ton of different breakfast foods like bacon, sausage, eggs (not hard-boiled), bread, and pancake mix. They were going to have such a big breakfast, Erica just couldn't wait!

Erica heard the doorbell ring and jumped slightly, her eyes darting around the room nervously until Amanda put a hand on her shoulder for about five seconds and this helped the girl calm down and go back to what she was doing.

Someone else must have answered the door since she heard Trevor's voice yelling, "Happy Easter!" She thought about going to greet him, but decided to remain in the kitchen and dye the eggs so they'd have a beautiful centerpiece for dinner later on. Erica had the eggs laying on paper towels to dry. She was quite pleased with the colors she made, some of them being multicolored. "The Easter bunny is here!" she heard him yell. Erica got up from her chair to see what all of the commotion was about. Amanda already tried to tell her the Easter bunny came this morning when Erica woke up to a large basket of candy and chocolate was left on her floor. Obviously, she didn't believe it and thanked Amanda and Michael.

When Erica saw Trevor arrived in a white bunny suit, she began laughing hysterically. Jimmy was already laughing while Tracey and Michael looked horrified. He made three Easter baskets, which he presented to Jimmy, Tracey, and Erica. "What the fuck," Michael managed to find his voice. Erica heard Amanda walk into the room to see what was going on. When she did, she turned around and went right back.

"Happy Easter, Trevor!" Erica said between laughs and ran up to him despite the terrifying bunny suit. He lifted her up and spun her around.

"Someone's already all dressed up. Much better than these assholes," Trevor said, referring to the other three who were still in their pajamas at ten in the morning. "Looking real beautiful," he complimented.

"Thanks," Erica blushed as he set her down. She then went onto the floor where her second Easter basket was sitting on the ground. She noticed she got a purple one, Tracey received the pink one, while Jimmy got a green one. She began to dig through it and found even more chocolate bunnies, jelly beans, and other candies. She took one out in particular which was pretty funny: jelly beans were supposed to go into the animal and then when she pressed down, the jelly beans came out of its rear end. Jimmy was having a blast with his.

"Seriously?" Amanda entered the room again when she saw Trevor sitting on the floor eating candy Erica was sharing with him. "You look like a pedophile."

"He's not Uncle T if he isn't a creep, mom," Jimmy pointed out. Trevor took the head off of the bunny suit and smiled up at her from his spot on the floor.

"Did you go out in public like that?" Amanda looked at him in disgust.

"Of course! Spirit of the holiday," he explained.

"Jesus Christ, T," Michael shook his head.

"I'm not the one in my fucking pajamas. I got up bright and early, showered, and dressed up all in spirit of the holiday."

"My apologies," Michael said sarcastically and went to light a cigar.

"Not in my house, Michael," Amanda put her foot down. "Now, I made a nice breakfast. Come on and eat it before it's cold."

"Don't have to tell me twice," Jimmy sprang up from his seat, spilling his candy and chocolate everywhere, and ran into the dining room.

"I'm not hungry," Tracey said looking at her phone.

"Yes you are," Michael said. "Get your ass in there." Tracey groaned, complained, and dragged herself into the dining room. Erica and Trevor followed and behind them, Michael and Amanda made their way in. Trevor sat at the head of the table. Michael was going to protest, but Trevor pointed out claiming he was the Easter bunny and today was his day. Amanda wanted to remind Trevor Easter wasn't about the Easter bunny at all, but the inside of her cheek to keep the peace. Jimmy began devouring his food alongside Trevor while Tracey picked at her food, taking a bite whenever Michael sent a glare her way. Erica calmly ate her pancakes, happy to be surrounded by her family, even if they were dysfunctional.

* * *

Wasn't sure if I'd update this again, but I did! I figured an Easter one was appropriate for today :)

I'm not religious myself, but it's a nice excuse to get together with family, friends, and eat good food!


	7. Perfection

**Perfection**

Tracey hadn't been to Trevor's home in Sandy Shores for at least two months and she quite honestly forgot to visit him. She had gotten back into doing her cam shows for money because she loved the attention she got from fans and an actual nine to five job didn't really work for her. It must have been genetic because her father never really held down a job like that. Even as a movie producer, he got to choose his own hours and go in whenever he felt he needed to which was apparently often since he liked his job.

It didn't take long for Tracey to enter the whole therapy scene and she found she had quite a few of the same problems Michael had. She did suffer from depression even though she hadn't known it at the time. It had completely ruined her relationship with her ex-husband because she had cheated on him. If Tracey regretted anything, it was ruining something that brought her so much happiness. However, the chemicals in her brain told her to do other things and this resulted in her extremely low self-esteem and confidence despite showing otherwise. It had been easy for her to slip back into that mode where she felt she had more power rather than being stuck in a single relationship. Obviously, her life wasn't meant to be perfect and she wasn't meant to be married. She didn't think she could go through all of that again.

Tracey sometimes wished she had her brother's life. Although Jimmy almost ruined his own life, he had fought whatever it was and fixed up his marriage by going to therapy. He ended up having a couple of kids and had the life she had wanted with Jaylen, her ex.

She also wanted the life her adopted younger sister had. Erica had everything Tracey ever wanted in the fame category and she never had to star in any porn video to make it to where she wanted to be. Erica De Santa's name was well known mostly in the theater community, but people had heard of her outside of it because of the photoshoots she would sometimes do. Tracey wanted to know how much money Erica made, but the red haired girl never disclosed that information to the public. Although she was no Poppy Mitchel, she was admired by all and people thought of her as the good girl. Tracey wouldn't argue- in the family, Erica was the good girl despite a few instances which would state otherwise. However, she'd always end up making the right decision in the end and she had been Amanda's child prodigy Tracey could never be: multitalented star Erica and then there was Tracey whose talents consisted of fucking in front of a camera.

Of course, Erica's stupid success in theater and Jimmy's happy and quiet family life didn't help Tracey's confidence levels or anything of that nature. She was so similar to her father, it scared her sometimes. He continued to get his release by going out and robbing people; she continued to get her release by putting on a show.

Tracey picked up an issue of a magazine off of the floor and shook her head at the filth. He had more than enough money to hire a maid, but he always chose not to and Tracey would have to come and clean and be his maid when she didn't even clean her own house! But he was her Uncle Trevor and she needed to take care of him because nobody else would- even perfect little Erica everyone adored so much.

Tracey inwardly groaned when she realized this was the issue Erica had been in. She had to ignore all of the articles in other magazines saying how empowering the portraits were and how that had been the best work a local Liberty City artist had produced to date. She rolled her eyes and had to remind herself this wasn't a magazine normal people read. In fact, it was one of those thick ones that displayed artwork and it wasn't really that interesting. The magazines which raved about it weren't even read by most people, either. The only reason Tracey read an article here or there was because Amanda was so proud of Erica that she picked up any magazine that had a sentence with her in it and kept them. The newest ones were always on the coffee table in the living room lately while older issues were kept in a box stored away in her parents' closet.

The blonde didn't understand why her mother was so proud and grinned from ear to ear whenever she talked about these portraits. Erica never called her once to tell her about how she had been captured in a piece of art. A news segment covering the exhibit being shown at the famous art museum in Liberty City had told the family. Tracey never sat through the whole coverage, always turning it off when they showed the first portrait of an African American woman looking up at the moon. The woman's beauty was very real and the artist hadn't exaggerated it. Tracey had seen an actual photograph of this woman, too, and Tracey would admit she was very beautiful which was why she never dared to look at Erica's portraits.

Tracey wondered why Trevor would pick this up. After all, he was incredibly mad at Erica since she hadn't spoken to the family in what seemed like a century. Tracey could have texted her, but she wasn't the one who moved across the country and forgot about her family.

The magazine was a little bit wrinkled and dirty on the outside, but then again, this was found on Trevor's floor and it was a miracle it wasn't shredded to bits. Tracey had the urge to look at Erica's portraits because she was kind of tired of her mother talking about them and maybe if she saw them, Tracey could point out how they weren't perfect and find Erica's flaws, too.

Tracey sat down on Trevor's couch and began to thumb through the magazine. Hey, she wasn't crazy even though she knew the portraits started on page fifty six because it was Amanda: "Did you look at page fifty six, Tracey? Incredible start! And what about page sixty two, oh god, that's my favorite one!" The way Amanda spoke was so animated, Tracey didn't even know if it was her mother anymore.

Why was Erica still the favorite when she couldn't even pick up a phone half the time? Why was Tracey the disappointment when she took care of her Uncle T and made sure to go to Michael's and Amanda's for family dinner night?

The portraits were very well done; Tracey would give the artist credit. She found herself admiring the first few of the woman she recognized from the news. It was obvious she wasn't a dancer like Erica and she carried a little extra weight here and there, but there was something about her beauty Tracey couldn't help but appreciate. She didn't seem to be wearing any clothes, but her intimate parts were very much hidden.

Tracey was actually enjoying the artwork, but frowned when she turned the page and she saw Erica sitting on a fallen tree as if she belonged out in the forest and her surroundings. Her orange red hair contrasted with the green foliage around her as well as the wood of the trees. Like the other woman, Erica didn't wear any clothes, but she was covered up. Leaves covered her breasts, but the swell of them could be seen. Tracey found herself biting her lower lip as she looked at them and down towards her abdomen which was flat and thin because of her career choice. Erica's hands holding a twig in her hands covered up the area in between her legs which were toned and looked longer than they actually were since Erica never got taller than five foot three or four. Tracey's eyes trailed back up to her breasts which she noted didn't even have a natural cleavage.

Erica's head was tilted slightly to the right and pointed downward, but her eyes looked up towards the sky. Her blue eyes were crystal clear as she looked towards the sunlight that was trying to break through the canopy of the forest. She actually looked innocent here and Tracey hated to admit it, but perfect- as if she was a porcelain doll sitting on the shelf waiting to be touched.

Many of the paintings were similar until Tracey got to Amanda's favorite portrait where it took up both sides of the magazine. Erica knelt on the ground in the dirt looking up at the darker skinned woman who was cradling a baby in her arms. This time, Erica's flawless skin was smudged with dirt. Of course, some foliage was perfectly placed in front of her breast, but the small swell could still be shown. Tracey couldn't help but try to see in between Erica's legs and for some reason she noted she must have shaved down below (but then again, who didn't?). Tracey had no idea why she couldn't take her eyes off of her beautiful sister and then she shocked herself because she admitted Erica was beautiful and she was not.

The red headed girl who had been pretty much rejected by her own mother at a young age, had been neglected, and found love in books before she found any in people had grown into an extravagant woman and it wasn't fair. Tracey had grown up poor, but her parents always loved her. And then her father made a deal with the FIB and she got to live in the lap of luxury and spent all of this money on cosmetic surgery to enhance her beauty, was ugly. She couldn't believe Erica's breasts looked so perfect, but they were so small she didn't have cleavage without a serious push up bra while Tracey's were a full D cup and looked like shit?

Tracey threw the magazine back down on the floor to avoid the perfection that was Erica De Santa.

Maybe it would be easier to start in Trevor's room so he'd have a nice place to sleep. When she entered his room and forced herself not to gag at the stench, she noticed more of that same magazine scattered around the room. She saw he had taped some of the portraits, which included Erica in mostly all of her naked glory, around his room and one was actually on the ceiling above his bed. A little disturbed by this, Tracey left his room and figured she'd clean the bathroom since that was always in the worst condition. But of course, there were more of those magazines scattered around in the bathroom. She couldn't do this and she had to get out of this trailer which apparently worshipped Erica De Santa who should have just kept her old last name and been the non-exciting Erica Meyers.

"Hey, Trace, haven't seen you in a while," Trevor commented as he arrived home just as Tracey was about to leave. "What made you stop by?"

"Oh, umm, just wanted to see how you were doing. It's been a while," Tracey smiled convincingly.

"Yeah it has." Trevor put his arm around her neck and she could tell he hadn't bathed in a really long time. She remembered when Erica was around and he'd bathe pretty much regularly and he would make an effort, however small it was, to keep the house somewhat okay for the week. "Come on in and have a beer," he invited. Tracey didn't have a choice but to follow him back inside to the trailer shrine dedicated to Erica.

Trevor went to the fridge and grabbed two beers, opened them, and handed one to Tracey. She took a large gulp to help calm her down. "I went into your room," Tracey stated and decided to get to the point. "And the bathroom. I saw all the magazines."

"What magazines?" he asked.

"Don't be stupid," Tracey sighed and she kind of flinched at how similar she sounded to her father.

"I'm not fucking stupid!" he yelled at her. Normal people would have started crying if Trevor Phillips got in their face. Tracey wasn't very normal and she knew Trevor would never lay a hand on her.

"Fine," Tracey said and found another copy of the magazine on the kitchen counter. She grabbed it and threw it at him. With his good reflexes, he caught it and glared at her. "This fucking magazine."

"What? I can't appreciate art now?" he was still yelling.

"No because you don't appreciate art," Tracey crossed her arms after setting the beer aside. "And only those pictures of Erica's portraits are all over your bedroom walls. It's a little weird," she said the last part softly. "This is a little much, even for you."

"I just miss the girl," Trevor wailed, dropped to his knees, and buried his face in her stomach. He had dropped his beer and it shattered on the floor, spilling the remaining liquid everywhere. Tracey put her beer on the counter and found herself patting his head, running her hand through the remainder of his unwashed hair. "I even went to visit her, but I still fucking miss her."

"You visited her?" Tracey took a step back so her lower back hit the counter. "When?"

"A couple weeks ago. I took my chopper and went to her apartment," Trevor admitted.

"Something happened between you two," Tracey glared. She didn't think it was a good thing that had happened and she was kind of sick to her stomach to assume. However, it would explain his obsession over her. Of course he liked beautiful, perfect Erica and was probably jacking off to her portrait every night. Erica probably had pity sex with him.

"Nothin' like that happened!" he roared when he noticed Tracey's disgusted face. "I just missed her, went to her apartment, and she cooked me dinner. That's all. You'd think I'd fuck her? She sat on my lap when she was nine for Christ's sake! What the fuck is wrong with you?" Trevor stood up, his tears vanishing. "And when I saw her, it just reminded me of how much I was gonna fucking miss her when I came back."

"But why those portraits? Why put those pictures of her when she's practically naked up all around your bedroom?" Tracey's volume rose.

"That girl," he said and opened up the magazine to a portrait of her. "She looks like a fucking goddess and I can't get over it! I ask myself how this girl is so fucking…"

"Perfect?" Tracey interrupted.

"How is she even part of our family?" Trevor asked her and his eyes drank up Erica's image. Tracey's eyes traveled down Erica's body as well and she didn't like that she recognized just a tiny bit of attraction to her when she got a familiar feeling at her core.

"I'd give up everything to look like that," Tracey told him. He cleared his throat and looked at her.

"Don't sell yourself short, kid," Trevor said even though she was a grown woman well into her thirties. "You're a beautiful girl yourself; you just don't see it. And you stuck around here so that says a lot. Erica doesn't even fucking visit her family or call once in a while."

"But she's famous, beautiful, dances, has performed on Broadway…she turned down movie offers!" Tracey pointed out. "Who does that?"

"I will give her credit- Erica's no sellout. She never wanted to do movies. She likes performing live."

"Anyway, she got all the fame. I got nothing," she shrugged. "All I wanted was to be famous and I never got there."

"People know Erica's name because she wasn't looking for fame. When I was talkin' to her over dinner that night, she told me she never wanted the fame and she says it's the one part of her job she hates. She's just great at what she does and sticks to it. Tracey, you just weren't passionate enough in something to get great at it, is all. Most people aren't. But that passion your sister has is pretty fucking cool, even if she is an asshole."

"Is she still the same?" Tracey asked her.

"Somehow she's maintained that innocent charm she had."

"But instead of being excited about her family, she'd rather stay on another coast and never really talk to us. Well, unless you go out and fly over there and knock on her door," Tracey joked.

"Maybe you should go visit her," Trevor said. "Call her and spend a couple days in Liberty City."

"Why should I make an effort when she can't even return a text?" Tracey hadn't texted for six months. She was still waiting for Erica's reply to that one.

"It's up to you. I made my shitty effort and she hasn't given me a call," Trevor shrugged.

"Maybe if I make an effort…" Tracey trailed. "Thanks, Trevor. I think I'm going to head home now. I have a lot to think about."

"No problem," Trevor took a fresh beer out of the refrigerator. "And don't worry. You're not as much of a fuck up as Erica." Tracey smiled and said goodbye. When she left his trailer, her smile immediately turned to a frown. She couldn't stop picturing Erica's portraits now that she saw them. Her jaw had been sharp, like it always had been, and it looked delicate and very feminine and nothing like Erica's alcoholic mother. Her shoulders were narrow, but strong from years and years of dancing. Her small breasts made Tracey envious and her figure, although not as curvy as Tracey's, had this delicate look to it she couldn't describe. Erica's long red hair made her beauty even more striking. Her eyes were blue like Amanda's, but Amanda's blue eyes (a feature Tracey always admired) were nothing compared to the electric blue Erica possessed. She could easily be described as a China doll; Erica was meant to be seen and admired by afar, not close and personal where Tracey could French braid Erica's hair again like she did in the past. Tracey had been a child back then, playing with her china doll, doing things with her, and taking her out. Tracey was obviously an adult now with her own bills to pay and depended on herself to put food on the table. There wasn't time for her to play with her china doll anymore and she could only admire it instead of feeling and touching it.

Tracey longed to go back in time and have Erica wake her up because she was excited to go to the beach with her big sister. She wanted to walk in on Erica reading Shakespeare again and tell her she needed to go outside and play like the kid she was rather than waste away a beautiful day inside.

Sitting in her car, Tracey pulled out her phone and scrolled through her contacts selecting Erica. It was so tempting to call her, but she decided to do it later in the safety of her own home where she wouldn't get in a car accident. Instead, she found some old pictures of Erica on her phone. One of them was pretty recent- it was a picture of a picture- and Amanda sent it to her. Tracey stared at it intently.

 _Why are you so beautiful?_

 _Why did I have to be sculpted to be pretty while you didn't need to lift a finger?_

 _How were you able to fix the damage that had been done to you when you were little? Why can't I fix the damage done to me?_

 _Why does my mother put you on this pedestal and worship you while no matter what path I took, I was always a disappointment? When will she ever brag about me to her friends? When will I ever get to make my father proud? How do you do it? I want to be the embodiment of perfection just like you, but I know I'll never be perfect. I'm the broken china doll._

* * *

I absolutely love exploring Tracey's character because she obviously suffers from lack of self-esteem and doesn't think she's ever good enough despite the front she puts on. On the outside, she's always saying how perfect she is, but internally I bet it's completely different. I also enjoy exploring Trevor's character as well because I feel he's pretty complex and he has obvious abandonment issues which is why he can't come to terms with Erica living her life without him on the east coast.

Obviously, Erica's not this perfect. There will be a part two to this segment to explore Erica's side to all of this :)


	8. Flawed

Takes place directly after _Perfection._

* * *

 **Flawed**

Erica didn't expect Tracey to be standing outside her apartment when she returned from work at eleven thirty at night. She had done an eight o'clock show and was finally able to get out around eleven and skipped going out to the bar. She was exhausted and she didn't hold any excitement seeing her sister standing there looking at her with an impatient expression, tapping her foot on the carpet. Wordlessly, the redhead unlocked the door and let Tracey inside. She wasn't particularly happy about this and she should have predicted someone else would show up here when Trevor had shown up unannounced not too long ago. She didn't expect it to be Tracey, though; her money would have been on Michael.

Wordlessly, Tracey stood inside the apartment and Erica shut the door behind them. She offered Tracey a drink and she wasn't surprised when the blonde requested alcohol and Erica had to give her the disappointing answer that she didn't have any at the moment. Tracey just simply went with water and had to deal with her nerves without getting a buzz, Erica decided.

Being a good host, Erica served the water after she threw her dance bag on the floor. Other than that, everything else in the apartment was spotless. She never wanted to live in filth like she had back when she lived with her biological mother in North Yankton. She was pretty proud of her apartment and thought it was kept in perfect shape. "What brings you here?" Erica finally asked as she took a seat. Tracey took a sip of water first then rested it on the coffee table.

"Trevor said he came to visit, so I thought it was time I did, too," she replied curtly. Erica frowned and noticed the look of disgust on Tracey's face when she looked up and down Erica's body. She was suddenly a little bit self-conscious and she wished her shorts weren't so short and her shirt wasn't so tight.

"Neither of you warned me," Erica said as she released her hair from its ponytail. She ran a hand through it to help shake it out since it had been tied back since eight in the morning.

"I would have called, but you never answer." Erica didn't fight that statement because it was true. She didn't pick up the phone for her family anymore for obvious reasons: they were dysfunctional, some criminals, one into porn, and tended to put her on this pedestal she didn't belong on. The latter being the main cause of this, Erica felt the expectations of her were held too high and she hated being the perfect daughter. "Mom pretends to be happy all the time, but she misses you a lot," Tracey pointed out. "She cries sometimes and then makes excuses why you don't talk to us."

"Is that why you came all the way here? I already heard it all from Trevor when he decided to stop by at three in the morning," Erica replied and crossed one leg over the other.

"I actually want to know what happened when Trevor came over," Tracey said and got right down to the point. Erica wished Tracey could be just a little bit more nervous and be afraid to ask her what had happened. The younger woman sighed.

"I think I'm going to get more comfortable and put on my pajamas. The guest room's down the hall," Erica pointed before she stood up and rushed out of the room. She heard Tracey tell her they were going to discuss this tonight, so she better hurry up. Erica bit her lower lip and she knew she couldn't escape from this.

The night Trevor showed up had been incredibly awkward. She knew he had a tendency to break down and be unable to take care of himself at times, but she hadn't expected him to drop to his knees, bury his head in her stomach, and just start wailing as if he was a lost child, but was then found again. She was lucky nobody slept over that night when he showed because how could she explain this man who looked and smelled as if he hadn't bathed for days and crying like a small child would?

Trevor cried and told Erica to go back home even though she was already home. She knew what he meant and tried to shush him, kind of like how Amanda would when Erica was upset back when she was a kid. She eventually got him into the bathtub after taking off his dirty clothes and filling up the tub with water. She left him in there briefly to go put his clothes in the wash on the longest cycle.

Upon returning to the bathroom, he was crying and said not to leave him again. Erica sat on the edge of the tub and promised him she never left him. She grabbed soap and a washcloth and began to scrub off the dirt and grime off of him. She did this in soothing circles which began to calm him down as she sang to him in a soft voice.

And then he grunted and thrusted his hips forward in pleasure, making a mess on his stomach. Eyes going wide, Trevor began to apologize profusely and cursed at himself for his reaction which had most likely been involuntary. Erica had told him it was okay, drained the dirty bath water, and refilled the tub again. It seemed as if Trevor was beyond mentally instable and she began to blame herself for it just a little bit. After all, in his mind, she abandoned him to live another life.

After she washed his hair and dried him off, Erica wrapped him in a fresh white towel and led him over to the guest bedroom. She pulled the comforter down, fluffed the pillows, and encouraged him to lay down. He did.

Erica left the room to go switch the wash and put his clothes in the dryer. She wondered why he hadn't traveled with anything, but then again, this was Trevor and it wasn't like he changed his clothes daily anyway. Erica went into the kitchen because she figured Trevor hadn't eaten anything in a while and microwaved some leftover Chinese food she had. She recalled grabbing some water before going back into the guest bedroom where she literally fed Trevor and gave him water through a straw because he just looked so helpless.

When he finished eating, Erica slipped into bed beside him and he rested his head on her breast and his other hand which traveled to her other breast. She allowed it and she knew it was so wrong and she should get him to stop because he wasn't in his right mind whether or not he was high. Erica couldn't bring herself to get him to stop. And then his hand trailed down as he whimpered in her ear and repeatedly said _I love you._

She didn't want to remember more. But she didn't mind remembering waking up, leaving for work without waking him, and came home to an empty apartment.

When Erica left her bedroom, she rushed over to Tracey who was waiting for her patiently in the living room. Erica told her sister everything that had transpired. She hadn't cried the day Trevor was there, but she cried her eyes out when she told Tracey everything that happened. She felt even more disgusting when she told her older sister and even though it didn't bother her all that much, it suddenly did because hearing it and speaking it made it disgusting. The silence and the look of disappointment on Tracey's face were painful. "I can't believe you and him…" Tracey finally spoke. "He wasn't your first, was he?" Tracey usually spoke loudly, but this was one of the few times she spoke quietly.

"No," Erica shook her head. "High school, I was fifteen or sixteen I think." For some reason, the exact moment of her first time was a blur and she knew this wasn't normal because she had a feeling every girl could name the exact day and time.

"I don't remember my first time that well, either," Tracey confessed. "But that's not important right now." She put a hand on Erica's knee for comfort. Tracey was never really good at these things and that was probably why she told everything to her. Erica knew Tracey wouldn't make such a huge deal out of it, or as big of a deal as Amanda or anyone else would make this. Trevor was practically family and he knew Erica when she was nine years old which made this entire situation pretty much taboo. The press would have a field day if they found out about this and she hoped Tracey, despite her obvious jealousy of her fame, would keep her mouth shut. "Did he force you to do anything?"

"No," Erica shook her head. "He'd never force me to do anything."

"Did you want him to…" Tracey trailed.

"No."

"So then he raped you."

"No!" Erica exclaimed and stood up in protest. "Trevor wouldn't do anything I didn't want him to do."

"But you just said you didn't want it," Tracey reminded her. "Look, I've been in this situation before with older men a lot. When you're young, you don't really know what to do in a situation like that. He should have known better than to touch you. You froze up and just let it happen even though we both know you really didn't want to do anything like that with him. Erica, you were relieved to come home to an empty apartment."

"He didn't rape me," Erica said.

"Okay," Tracey said even though she didn't agree with her. "It was just a super fucked up experience."

"Right. And it's not like I'm all that innocent. I've been around the block a few times," Erica sat back down beside the older woman.

"Oh?"

"Yeah. I don't have time for any meaningful relationships."

"Erica, the men who don't want a meaningful relationship are disgusting. I speak from a lot of experience." It almost sounded as if Tracey was bragging. However, why would it be okay for Tracey to do these things and not her? After all, Erica was an adult and she could take care of herself and she had been doing it pretty well.

"Stop putting me on this pedestal," Erica murmured. "I'm no better than you are. I'm just me, Tracey. I'm flawed just like everyone else. To tell you the truth, Trevor's not the first older guy I've been with. I've probably slept with someone's husband and didn't even know it. I've had one night stands where to me, nothing else was going to happen, but the guys sometimes find me and beg for some kind of relationship I don't even want. And…and it's not only men I sleep with. Sometimes it's a girl, usually from work, because we're all just so stressed and sometimes don't get a day off for weeks, and, well…" It wasn't like Erica went out and hooked up with random people. She'd usually meet them online and go out a couple of times if she didn't know them already. In that aspect, she was nothing like Tracey.

"Calm down," Tracey interjected. "I didn't even think you were like this," the blonde hugged her distraught sister. Erica melted into the embrace and remembered a time where things were simpler and she was just a little kid without any major responsibilities. Well, she'd skip like the first nine years of her life where she lived with her mother who didn't take care of her. Erica would happily go back to the days where she'd go out in the morning and get the paper with Michael on the weekend or when she'd help Amanda in the kitchen and make apple pies. She'd even go back to the times where she'd play video games with Jimmy and she'd go out and get her nails done with Tracey. Those were good times.

"See, Tracey? I'm not perfect. That's why I can't go back to Los Santos because everyone thinks I am perfect. I'm just a big ball of disappointment. I also pretty much slept with our uncle, so that happened, too."

"Our whole family is fucked up!" Tracey shouted and Erica was glad she had enough money to live in a high end apartment so she didn't have to worry about being too loud. Tracey stood up and threw her hands in the air in frustration. "I'm the family slut, only second to mom back in her prime, dad still goes around doing God knows what, Jimmy is on so much medication to function normally, and well, don't even get me started with Trevor!"

"And yet you came here thinking I was so perfect!" Erica stood up to face Tracey. "I'm just as fucked up as the rest of you. How was I supposed to feel when all of you are always talking about how great and perfect I am and how I'm the fucking family success!"

"I think you thought you were the embodiment of perfection until you slept with Uncle Trevor. Am I right?"

Tracey was right.

But Erica wasn't going to say it.

"I know I'm not perfect. I'm not even close to it. But I pretend that I am because…it makes me feel less like garbage." This was probably one of the few times Tracey would ever admit to this and the blonde began to cry. Erica threw her arms around her and just held Tracey while she held Erica because both of them needed comfort. However, Erica wasn't sure Tracey could give the comfort she needed and Erica didn't think she could give the comfort Tracey needed. They both sat back down on the couch clinging to one another.

"I can't go back to Los Santos," Erica whispered.

"I know," Tracey replied quietly.

"I can't face them."

"You don't have to. But if you decide to, I'll help you."

"Thanks," Erica smiled and finally didn't feel so isolated within her family. Because, in the end, she'd never be perfect even though she wanted to be. She would have been okay until she fell off her pedestal that night and broke, just like a delicate china doll and couldn't be fixed.

* * *

Yes, this one is messed up, but everyone in this family is and Erica isn't immune to it. I don't expect people to like this chapter at all, but for some reason in my head, I always thought of this happening between Erica and Trevor one day due to Trevor's clingy personality and how he viewed Erica as a caretaker since she used to go and care for him back when she was younger- almost like a mother. And we know Trevor is attracted to motherly characters (like Patricia).

Feel free to leave a review- I'd really like to hear your thoughts on this chapter!


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